The site for New Jersey is here. Before you can enter the New Jersey Site you must affirmatively agree to the conditions on the main page, which include a statement of the prohibitions against the misuse of information contained in the registry.

Considerably more comprehensive than some of the other state-specific sites I accessed, the New Jersey site permits searches by geographic location (county, zip code, locality or street name), name, date of birth, physical characteristics, vehicle description or license plate number.

Each entry contains the name and address of the registrant along with a detailed description and a photograph. The entries also identify the make, model, year and license plate number of each registrantâ€™s vehicle. Finally, each entry contains a description of the sexual offense of which the registrant was convicted.

I agree with Sluggo when he observes that there is a serious potential for the misuse of the information contained in the registry, but I also agree with him that the registry is a good idea. I believe that nature of the crimes of which these people have been convicted and the tendency for sex offenders to be repeat offenders, outweigh the potential for abuse. In addition, those who would misuse the information face criminal sanctions.

I urge those with children to periodically take a few minutes to check the registry for your area.